Recent studies have shown that bandwidth usage has been exponentially increasing every year since the inception of dial-up modems. Rising customers’ expectations are motivating MSOs and Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) vendors to pursue cutting-edge technologies to satisfy customers’ needs. Therefore, the DOCSIS® 3.0 standard, which was developed recently, proposes different mechanisms to increase the bandwidth offered to cable customers. Among these mechanisms are expanding the upstream (US) spectrum, downstream (DS) channel bonding, and US channel bonding.

While wide, non-bonded channels can provide relatively high throughput (up to ~30 Mbps), deploying DOCSIS 3.0 US channel bonding introduces many new benefits. An obvious benefit of US channel bonding is the ability to offer customer throughput that exceeds 30 Mbps. However, there are many other benefits of US channel bonding, including statistical multiplexing gain, flexible and efficient US spectrum assignment, grow-as-you-go strategy, and better quality of service (QoS).

Although the US spectrum is limited and noisy, it can be used efficiently to offer higher data rates through US channel bonding. This is primarily because of the excellent performance obtained by US channel bonding in the presence of different HFC noise types. In this article, we closely analyze the performance of US channel bonding in the presence of Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), Semi-AWGN noise, Ingress noise, and Impulse noise. We demonstrate that the performance of US channel bonding can be better than the performance of wide channels in the presence of AWGN. We also show that the performance of US channel bonding can be better than that of wide channels in the presence of Semi-AWGN, Ingress noise, and Impulse noise. In the conclusion of the analysis, we will show how US channel bonding can offer higher data rates than single wide channels.

Analysis of the Impact of Increasing Streaming Media Usage

Internet activity has been characterized by constant growth and constant change.  Recently there has been an explosion of the growth of video consumption from internet sources.  A recent report on internet and video usage stated that on-line viewing of video content in November 2008 had increased 34% over a year ago. This growth has been fueled by a combination of factors; most notably, faster broadband connections, and growth in the variety and quality of legitimate on-line content.  As recently as 2 or 3 years ago, participation in peer-to-peer download groups was the principal avenue to access recent video content.  Within the past year or so, desirable content has become available on-line from reputable sources.  The quality of those available downloads is quite reasonable for PC viewing, and the bandwidth consumed by these offerings is rapidly increasing as they seek to provide a comparable experience to that of traditional cable or broadcast sources.

For cable operators, this increased level of traffic demands corresponding increases in available bandwidth to ensure that all subscribers can still receive adequate levels of service.  This paper examines through simulation what, if any, changes to network engineering practices should be considered as this trend continues and possibly accelerates.

The growing market demand for service convergence is the driving force behind the development of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Wi-Fi / cellular integration, commonly known as fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). FMC has become a recurring theme amongst service providers such as cable operators worldwide, many of whom are seeking to deliver combined fixed-mobile services to their customers as part of a 'quadruple' service bundle. Whatever form these services take, they will require operator investment in network infrastructure, subscriber devices, and back office systems. But there are immediate, viable, standards-compliant FMC solutions on the market now that migrate forward into an IMS environment without stranding capital investments - and that provide for a graceful customer experience during the network evolution.

The rationale for, and technology of, the business services opportunity for cable operators has been well-documented. Now is the time for the block and tackle marketing of this new source of potential revenue.

Despite the near-ubiquity of HFC plant and cable’s expertise in delivering highly reliable residential voice and data service, the industry’s entry into the Business Services marketplace has been slow and cable’s share of the enterprise sector market revenue a fraction of its potential.

But that is changing – major North American MSOs are leading the charge in marketing carrier-grade Business Services to small and medium businesses and this presentation will provide attendees with actionable strategies and marketing tips to tap this under-served segment.